David Pettersson

Enterprise Architect. I help teams turn strategy into execution.

Designing a Target Architecture for Finance: From Core Systems to Reporting & Insights

Modern finance functions are expected to deliver far more than accurate bookkeeping. Today’s CFOs, controllers, and analysts must ensure compliance, enable automation, and provide real-time insights that guide strategic decisions. To support this, organizations need a finance target architecture that brings together core financial systems, reporting, a data hub, and business intelligence (BI) in a cohesive way.

In this post, we’ll explore a blueprint for a modern finance target architecture.

1. The Core Finance System

At the heart lies the Finance ERP or Accounting Platform — the system of record for:

  • General ledger (GL)
  • Accounts payable (AP) and receivable (AR)
  • Fixed assets and cash management
  • Financial consolidation and closing

This system ensures compliance, transactional integrity, and auditability. However, on its own, it rarely delivers the flexibility needed for analytics and modern reporting.

2. Reporting & Financial Close Layer

Next, many organizations add a specialized reporting and consolidation tool. This layer is optimized for:

  • Financial statements (P&L, balance sheet, cash flow)
  • Statutory reporting (IFRS, GAAP, Solvency II, etc.)
  • Planning, budgeting, and forecasting

By separating operational accounting from reporting and planning, companies gain more agility in closing books, performing allocations, and running simulations.

3. The Data Hub – Enabling Integration & Quality

To move beyond financial reporting and into enterprise-wide insights, data must flow freely. Here the data hub plays a central role:

  • Integration: Collecting and standardizing financial and operational data from ERP, CRM, HR, and procurement systems.
  • Data quality: Cleansing, harmonizing, and applying master data management (e.g., chart of accounts, cost centers, product hierarchies).
  • Distribution: Serving data consistently to BI platforms, planning tools, and downstream applications.

The hub prevents point-to-point spaghetti integrations, ensuring that finance data is trustworthy and reusable across the enterprise.

4. BI & Analytics for Decision Support

Finally, the BI and analytics platform turns harmonized data into actionable insight:

  • Self-service dashboards for controllers, analysts, and business leaders
  • Data visualization that helps identify trends and anomalies
  • Advanced analytics & AI/ML for forecasting, risk modeling, and scenario analysis

This layer democratizes access to finance data while ensuring that definitions are consistent with the finance system of record.

5. Putting It All Together

Here’s a simplified view of how the target architecture connects:

+----------------------+
|  Finance ERP System  |
|  (GL, AP, AR, etc.)  |
+----------+-----------+
           |
           v
+----------------------+
| Reporting & Close    |
| (Consolidation, PBF) |
+----------+-----------+
           |
           v
+----------------------+
|   Finance Data Hub   |
| (Integration, MDM,   |
|  Quality, APIs)      |
+----------+-----------+
           |
           v
+----------------------+
|  BI & Analytics      |
| (Dashboards, AI, ML) |
+----------------------+

6. Capability-to-System Mapping

A target architecture should always be grounded in capabilities. Below is a high-level mapping of finance capabilities to ERP, Data Hub, and BI.

Capability ERP (Finance System) Data Hub (Integration & MDM) BI & Analytics
Financial Accounting GL, AP, AR    
Financial Consolidation & Close Yes   Reporting, KPI
Revenue Recognition Yes Alignment across systems Margin analysis
Budgeting & Forecasting Cost planning Unified data foundation Predictive models
Regulatory Reporting Yes Ensure data lineage Compliance reports
Profitability Analysis GL data Combine finance + ops data Margin & KPI views
Advanced Analytics & AI/ML   Data provisioning Predictive finance

This makes it clear:

  • ERP is the system of record for finance.
  • Data Hub harmonizes and integrates data, ensuring quality and consistency.
  • BI delivers insight by combining financial data with operational perspectives.

7. Benefits of a Finance Target Architecture

  • Single version of truth – Consistent data across reporting and BI
  • Agility – Faster reporting cycles and forecasting updates
  • Scalability – Ability to onboard new entities, systems, and reporting standards
  • Transparency – Clear governance and audit trails
  • Strategic value – Finance shifts from a control function to a driver of business insight

Conclusion

A modern enterprise cannot afford fragmented financial reporting. By designing a target architecture that integrates ERP, reporting tools, a data hub, and BI, organizations create a foundation for compliance, agility, and growth.

Finance gains stronger control and faster closes, while leadership benefits from insights that guide long-term strategy.

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